City's bid to retain their Premier League crown has faltered this season - they're currently 12 points behind Manchester United and have scored 17 goals fewer than the league leaders.

With David Silva failing to reach the heights of last season and Samir Nasri unable to recapture his Arsenal form, Roberto Mancini is on the hunt for new attacking midfielders to provide the spark behind Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero.

And as such, he sent the club's Football Development Executive Vieira to Rome on Sunday to watch Argentina international Lamela and Bosnia star Pjanic in action during their side's 3-1 win against Genoa.

Lamela, who has featured up front this season, has scored 11 Serie A goals this term, while Pjanic has scored three and set up four more in the league.